Qualcomm CEO in South Korea, meetings with Samsung and SK Hynix

Cristiano Amon, the CEO of Qualcomm, arrived today in the South Korean capital for a series of high-level industry meetings of the utmost importance.

Interviewed by journalists from the Korea Economic Daily at a hotel in the Banpo-dong district of Seoul, the executive kicked off an intensive schedule of meetings.

The Asian mission takes place amid a particularly challenging period for the semiconductor sector, characterized by tight supply constraints that continue to squeeze electronics markets.

In facing these challenges, manufacturing companies are accelerating timelines to secure the production capacities needed for their projects. Today’s visit lays the groundwork for a series of agreements, involving two major Eastern electronics players.

Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm on a visit to South Korea

The first key point on the American executive’s agenda concerns cooperation with Samsung Foundry. During the day, Amon will have the opportunity to engage directly with the heads of the production division, including the figure of president Han Jin-man.

At the heart of the discussions are plans to use the 2 nm technology, known by the technical code SF2, for manufacturing the company’s future components in San Diego. Among these, the next-generation application processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, is particularly significant.

Already at CES last January, Amon himself had confirmed the start of talks with the South Korean company for contract manufacturing using this specific node, adding that the chip design work had already been completed, thus paving the way for an imminent active production phase.

If the contract signatures were to be signed, it would mark a return of great significance: Qualcomm, in fact, would once again entrust its flagship orders to Samsung’s foundries five full years after shifting production in favor of the Taiwanese competitor TSMC, which occurred after 2022.

The renewed commercial reliability of Samsung represents a valuable asset for Qualcomm, constantly seeking viable alternatives to differentiating production in a global market constrained by supply capabilities.

The meeting with SK Hynix and the memory issue

The South Korea trip also includes a decisive stop at the offices of SK Hynix, where the CEO will meet senior executives to address the complex issue of memory modules.

Currently, the DRAM component is one of the most challenging elements to source at scale. The heavy use of LPDDR modules inside data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence has generated significant pressure on companies developing SoCs, effectively limiting available stock.

Most recently, SK Hynix unveiled its solution SOCAMM2, equipped with high-performance LPDDR5X modules and designed specifically for NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform.

Because Qualcomm makes extensive use of LPDDR memories within its own System on a Chip, for both the smartphone and laptop segments, Amon’s priority will be to negotiate solid deals to secure additional volumes essential to supporting demand.

Outlook ahead of Computex

These negotiations’ timelines are by no means random. There is only one month left until Computex opens, one of the IT sector’s most anticipated events, where the Qualcomm CEO will take the stage to deliver the opening address.

There, the company will present its future plans for the PC and artificial intelligence sectors, likely counting on a strengthened and stabilized supply network thanks to the meetings in Seoul in recent hours.